There is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,445,309, for example, a method of applying or transferring a decal or decalcomania design to a surface of an article of glassware to be decorated. With reference to FIG. 1 of said patent, it will be noted that the wax or heat release coating 3 of the decalcomania or decal shown in such drawing is somewhat larger in area or expanse than the design 5 to be transferred to a surface to be decorated. Such larger area or expanse of the heat release coating is, of course, transferred or applied to said surface along with that portion of such coating carrying the decal design 5. In many cases this would pose no problem. However, where it is desired to apply another decoration to said surface in relatively close proximity to the outer periphery of the decal design, it is necessary prior to the applying of such other decoration, to remove the heat release coating as, for example, by firing the article to volatize such coating. As is believed readily apparent, it would be more economical if the second or said other decoration could be applied to said surface and fired at the same time as the first decoration since a second firing step or other coating removal step, could thereby be eliminated.
There is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,813,268 a machine and method of applying or transferring indicia or decalcomanias (decal designs) from a rolled carrier web or strip to a series of articles. Such decalcomanias or decals may, for example, be heat release decals similar to that shown in the aforesaid U.S. Pat. No. 3,445,309 and, as pointed out in lines 19 through 23 of column 2 and in lines 35, 36 and 37 of column 4 of U.S. Pat. No. 3,813,268, the machine and method disclosed in such patent may be employed in processing flat articles or articles having shapes different than a cylindrical tumbler or glass bottle such as illustrated in the latter patent. If, then, a series or succession of articles each having a flat surface to which a decal design is to be applied or transferred are successively moved past a reel of heat release decal transfer tape or web as in U.S. Pat. No. 3,813,268, the part of the heat release coating on such tape extending between successive decals is very apt to be applied to areas of the articles on which it is desired to apply another or second design as previously mentioned. For example, if each of a succession of dish-like articles are to have a decal design applied to the flat inner bottom surface of the respective article, that is, to the flat bottom surface of the concavity of the article, at least part of the heat release coating between the successive decals on a tape such as that mentioned will probably also be applied or transferred to the upwardly sloping edges or verges of the dish-like articles. Therefore, before there may be applied a second or another decoration such as, for example, a stripe or series thereof extending about the verge or brim of each said dish-like article, it is necessary to remove the heat release coating which is applied to such verge or brim by the decal design transfer or application operation.